JOKE

So, a woman walks into a curio shop in San Francisco. Looking around at
the exotica, she notices a very life-like, life-size bronze statue of
a rat. It has no price tag, but it looks so striking she decides she
must have it. She takes it to the owner: "How much is the bronze
rat?"

"Twelve dollars for the rat, a hundred dollars for the story," says
the owner.

The woman gives the shop owner twelve dollars. "I'll just take the
rat; you can keep the story."

As she walks down the street carrying the bronze rat, she notices
that a few real rats have crawled out of alleys and sewers, and begun
following her down the street. This is a bit disconcerting, so she
begins walking a little bit faster.

Within a couple of blocks, the group of rats behind her grows to over
a hundred, and they begin squealing. She starts to trot towards the
Bay. She takes a nervous look around and sees that the rats now
number in the thousands, maybe in the millions, and they are all
squealing and coming towards her faster and faster. Terrified, she
runs to the edge of the Bay and throws the bronze rat as far out into
the Bay as she can. Amazingly, the millions of rats all jump into the
Bay after it, and are all drowned.

The woman walks back to the curio shop. "Aha," says the owner, "I'll
bet you have come back for the story."

"Actually no," says the woman. "I came back to see if you have a
bronze Republican."

Just in case any Republicans ever read this journal, I apologize in advance.  It's just a joke, okay?  (Pretty good one, huh?)  Actually,  no one is going to be reading this journal, if I don't get back into the loop fairly soon.  Another week should do it, grades handed in, a training in the new language lab, maybe even the lawn mowed.  And I'll cease to be an indentured servant.